Arrows and Gold
by greywitch135
Summary: Hi everyone, I wanted a story where Maid Marian was not a wuss and Robin Hood not the main character, funny i hope! and interesting. Read & Review
1. Fighting With Girls

A/N: Hi everybody, to all those people who read 'arrow let loose' and want an update, or those who've read 'curse of the danaides' and want a decent sequel, I don't know where I'm going with it because my muse has left me.

But, this is an idea that I've been thinking of for a while, so review and tell me what you think of it!!! Thanks!!!

Greywitch

P.s. any views expressed in here are NOT my own.

P. p. s I love the Forest Wife.

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In a world where our beloved King Richard, may God protect him, fought to drive the heathen Moors from Jerusalem, the Holy City, and his brother, Prince John sat in his place as regent, may God damn him, and squeezed blood as well as gold from us. My only claim to fame is that I wore, and still wear occasionally, men's trousers.

It had begun when I was seven, and had wanted to go hunting and riding like everyone else. Seeing from a practical point of view that my girly frills and dresses would hinder and not help me, I wandered up to my uncle, with my very best begging pleading and whining look, and begged him to let me "borrow" the page boy's clothes. After much persuasion he finally agreed, but only on the condition that I wore a cap over my and told no one that I was the lady Mary de Holt. I followed his instructions and none but the servants who had known me since I was a babe ever guessed that I was not a dim-witted stable boy.

Bu, do you not find it odd, readers, that I should go not to my father or mother, but to my uncle? I had neither parent for my father had died of fever, and my mother had passed over when she attempted to bring me into this world. As a consequence, my uncle was not only appointed my protector and guardian, but he was also the only surviving male heir on my father's side, therefore he took my lands, but allowed me to keep my title.

To the right of the castle in which myself and my uncle lived, there were the Locksley lands. My uncle, knowing from my strong will and definite lack of feminine beauty, that I would never find a better match than with the young heir of Locksley, sought rather frantically for a marriage alliance that would join the two lands; a marriage between myself, the Lady Mary, and the heir, Lord Robert of Locksley.

In winter, the expanse of land that bordered Sherwood Forest, as mine did, either froze or went to bog land, and unfortunately, that was the exact state of my land when this "Robert" came to stay at my castle for the first time.

My uncle had not wanted to marry me to a stranger, so Robert would come to us one summer, and I to him the next, and so on. It started just after my eighth birthday, on the dreariest and most dismal summer ever known to Nottingham. No one had taken the care to inform me that guests or rather visitors were coming, so I went out to ride dressed as I usually did, in boy's clothes. The servants had grown used to me, loving me unconditionally as the Lady of the castle, my nurse especially loved me, she had three boys herself, and so was able to teach my how to put on and wear these foreign, alien clothes.

Uncle had given my first horse, and had given my pony to some of our servants' children. She was small, but since I too was small and slight, I loved my new horse regardless. I scurried about the stables getting things ready, admittedly, I did have servant who could have done the tasks that I was doing, but I preferred to do some things by myself, and they found it easier to turn a blind eye and say that what they did not see, must not have happened. Therefore, they made themselves scarce when they saw me coming.

So… when a man and a boy rode grandly into my stables, complaining loudly about not being welcomed, wet land, marshes and bogs, they thought, as planned, that they saw a stable boy. The younger one looked a little older than me, but certainly not old enough to address me in the way that he did, and order me to "see to his horse". I ignored him, pompous people regularly came through our lands, and I saw no reason to treat this new set any differently to how I treated the old ones. I was meant to be dim-witted after all.

"If the mistress is as ignorant as the animals she keeps as servants, I will have to bring my tutor and educate her." The boy said, glaring at me in disdain.

"If this is the welcome that we receive after having travelled for days to arrive here, we will turn around and go back home."

"A stable brat to welcome us, so dim-witted he cannot speak. I want not to marry the mistress of this hovel."

My blood boiled inside of me until I was sure that my face was as red as my hair. I was cursed with red hair, and also the temper that often accompanied the colour. This horrid rich brat had insulted my home and myself, and they were two slights that I could neither forgive nor forget.

I reached down into my horse's stall, and grabbed a large handful of the sliming, fresh manure that I had been clearing out, and threw it at the young uppity noble brat, who was no doubt my future husband, Robert of Locksley. I did not want to even think about marrying him, and unfortunately for him, he was on my land, and therefore, he obeyed my rules.

The horse dung hit him squarely on the top of his head, sitting on his hat. Both he and the obnoxious man next to him turned, rather stupidly to look at me.

"It slipped." I said with a smirk and a shrug of my shoulders. I admit that wearing men's clothes did make me act more like a boy than a girl, but he had slighted me!

Leaping of his horse once he had adjusted to the shock of wearing horse manure, he approached me. For saying that he was meant to be only two years older than me, he stood both head and shoulders taller than me. His dark brown eyes glittered, I rather think that I had somewhat insulted him.

"Was that a challenge?" He asked me.

I ignored him and he repeated the question. I turned my back on him, an insult, mistake it not readers. However, that was a small error on my account, for he then pushed me face first into the mud and manure that I had just thrown at him. It was disgusting!

You were not meant to attack a man who had his back to you, so not only had this boy no honour, but he was also now laughing at me. He turned his back to me and made his way back to the other laughing prat on a horse, in a deliberate insult.

With a cry I threw myself at his back and pulled hard on his curly brown hair. He stumbled backward, I was attached to him and determined not to let go without a fight. He staggered into the courtyard before throwing me to the ground away from him. He had knocked my cap off, and my red tumbled down my back, making me a girl once more.

With even more disdain he rose to look down on me.

"I do not fight girls. They are not worth it and always lose. Besides," he added, looking at my hair, "Red-haired girls are ugly weaklings."

Confident in himself he swaggered back to the other man, who had been watching us with amusement and a little horror once he had realised who I was.

What had I said about my temper readers? Had I mentioned that it was voluble and vengeful?

Once more I threw myself onto him, this time with enough force and anger to tip him over to the ground. I knelt on his back, pressing my knees into his spine. I grabbed his hair and spoke to him.

"Most girls are weaklings, but as you will have realised, I am an exception to that rule. Remember that and next time a girl will not beat the little lord of Locksley."

He flushed under my scorn. I would have then ripped his hair out, if a crowd had not appeared at that moment. The servants smiled indulgently at their lady, my uncle was incensed and horrified.

"Mary de Holt! Get here this moment!"

I dutifully obeyed him, and stood, covered in dirt, straw, and I dread to think what else, and glared hatefully t the boy opposite me, who evidently did not like to be beaten by a girl.

"I do believe that the betrothal was to be between my son and a lady. I heard no mention of a wench in trousers. Perhaps she has a sister who would be more suitable?" Said Robert's father hopefully.

My uncle plainly wanted the ground to rise up and swallow him. He hissed at me,

"When will you act like the lady you are instead of the hellion you are becoming?"

Never!

"Did you not receive our messenger telling you that we were arriving this morrow? Because we received your telling us that everything would be prepared." His eyes scanning me made it plain that he considered me not only unsuitable for his son, but also unprepared for a lifetime as a wife.

"The messenger said that you would arrive next week."

"No, I am leaving next week, but Robert is to stay on for two more months."

Both my uncle and the brat's father laughed over the mistake, my uncle threw an arm over the other man's shoulder, and leading both myself and Robert in front of them, they wandered back indoors to plan the welcome and feast that had been missing this morning.

My uncle's hand on my shoulder did not prevent me from punching Robert of hitting him. He kicked me in return and I guessed that he had forgotten about not fighting girls.

"Carrot head."

"Spoilt rich brat."

The insults continued, hissed under our breath so that the men guiding us into the kitchen did not hear us.

"She is… spirited and somewhat passionate." The Lord said to my uncle, as if I was not there listening.

"He is strong and a strapping young man."

Robert swelled like a peacock under the praised, I kicked him.

"They do not mean it you fool, they are just being polite." He scowled at me and jabbed his fingers painfully into my ribs.

"She appears to be hale and hearty. Strong for child bearing."

I was a country girl, readers, and even so young I knew know children were made, and the idea of doing something so disgusting with that fool boy Robert made me feel physically sick. I turned to look at him; his face reflected my revolted stare and we both turned away groaning and complaining. He, being vulgar and obnoxious, pretended to gag.

The two men got the point and never mentioned child-bearing again. They did, however continue boasting about us. The Lord told of Robert's handsome form, curly thick hair and talent and strength at archery. Uncle could hardly boast of my freckles, long nose, thin and small frame or horrid red hair, a sure sign of the devil, and instead told how I was … more than a little vivacious, cleverer than boys my own age, and how I was… interesting…

"She'll never bore him." My uncle joked, sharing a laugh with Robert's father. Unsure what exactly this meant I hastily looked at Robert to see how he reacted. He simply raised an eyebrow and said,

"Pardon me if I fail to find that wild cat pulling out my hair 'interesting'."

That made them laugh even more. I kicked him hard in the shins again, and as we entered the hall, and were thus released, I was chased screaming up the spiral stairs, as he threatened to cut off my hair.

Robert soon realised that I was the one girl he should fight with, and compete against. As the only lady of the castle, for my uncle was unmarried and likely to remain so, I had the nicest, most comfortable rooms that overlooked acres upon acres of grass land. I would lay awake in my bed, with my red velvet bed-curtains turning the walls and ceiling a soft red, and would plot how to take revenge on him.

The name 'carrot head' stuck to me, and I hated that and my given name Mary, it was so dull and plain, even if it had been the name of Our Lady, mother of Jesus. Many of the servants fondly called me Marianna, or Marian for short. As for Robert, I extended my vocabulary to include brat, git, prat, weakling, boy and other names that came along when the situation arose. My uncle had the bad taste to actually like the uppity little snot, and occasionally, almost fondly, called him Robin. I called him slime, mud, dirt, or even manure once, but only when my uncle was not around to order my mouth washed out with soap.

My first revenge on him was for how he had made fun of my hair, and called my home, beloved, small and all I had ever know, a hovel. I went out, one morning, a day or two after his father had left, he was therefore alone in my castle, at my mercy, and able to act as horridly as he liked. I was dressed in a white dress deliberately.

I wandered about with my uncle's hairy old dog, and "accidentally" knocked Robert to his knees into a puddle. He acted instinctively, with one hand reaching out to grab my ankles and pull me over; staining my white dress with mud. Once more I threw mud at him, hitting him right in his face. He reciprocated, my hair wet and drying in muddy tendrils made me look like some sort of ancient sea monster. The dog, faithful to me growled at Robert as he swore and I shrieked, his words widening my grasp on the English language fantastically.

The servants had watched us, sensing that we disliked each other, and that there was a little friction between us. My nurse stepped in between us. Bessie grabbed a chunk of my hair and pulled me, and gained a hold on Robert ear and tugged him away from me. Even caught as we were we still squirmed and tried to fight each other. My nurse kicked twice on the door to my uncle's study and glared at the mud we had left on the floor. Without waiting for my uncle's permission to enter, she trod across the room, and stood in front of his desk, now holding both me and Robert by our ears. It was extremely painful.

My uncle looked up at my in surprise and horror. My dress was no longer white.

"Child." He groaned, "Were you born to be my final torment? Where is your sense of propriety? What did I say about your clothes and how if you are going to play rough and fight, do not, for Our Lady's sake, wear a dress."

"He pushed me over." I said indignantly.

"She pushed me first." I heard with glee how pathetic Robert sounded.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Silence!" My uncle shouted, and he looked from Robert, in his scruffy breeches and baggy shirt, his knees and legs covered in mud. To me, my white dress ruined by mud, and covered from head to toe in it, as I had anticipated he would. Uncle looked at me, seeing a girl with big eyes and a guileless face, a girl who should be clean. He looked again at Robert, a boisterous boy, who was meant to get dirty.

"Robert, I will endeavour to teach you the manners that befit a gentlemen, you do not push young girls over in the mud." Catching me pulling faces at Robert he continued. "And you little madam, should spend less time plotting and planning, and more time taking better care of your clothes. Apologise. Both of you."

He glared at us, exasperated and now, after more than a week of constant fighting, utterly unamused.

"I beg your pardon, my Lady de Holt." Sweet words, but his glare told me that this was no apology, and since he did not believe that I was a lady, let alone the Lady Mary de Holt, he was not technically apologising to me.

"I forgive you." I said and turned to flounce out of the room. Uncle growled my name.

"Will you forgive me?" I asked reluctantly and not caring what the answer was.

"I might."

Uncle order us from the room, complaining about the impetuousness of youth and our folly.

It was my first plot to thwart Robert, but it was not by a long way my last! On our way out of uncle's room, we made a serious promise to never ever marry and that we would always hate each other.

In some ways I have to tell you readers, we were wrong in both cases. But, at times even now, I dislike him every bit as much as I ever did then.

2, 875 words, rather respectable for a first chapter I think!!!!!


	2. Suffering His Presence

A/N: sorry readers, but there were two mistakes in the last chapter, the first one – Robert is two years older than Marian, and not one and a half. The second – Robert stays on Marian's lands for one summer, and then Marian on his, not the alternate winter and summer, that was just confusing.

Sorry!!

Greywitch

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Not only did having Robert to stay mean that I had to suffer his horrid presence in my castle for two whole, complete months, but it also meant that when I went out to play with the village children, I was obliged, or rather order by my uncle, to drag him along with me.

I was half afeard that Robert would act as big a snob as he had on our first meeting, and scorn my friends with their patched clothes, he would embarrass me in front of my friends for ever. It would be something I would never forget or forgive him for if he did.

Trying to leave the castle without him, I hastened to get dressed and ready quickly. I slipped out of my room and instead of taking the main staircase, which he used; I used my knowledge of my beloved castle to my advantage and ran down the servants' staircase that twisted, essentially, down the back of the castle like a backbone.

My uncle's rooms were on the second floor, and I had to pass by them in order to continue going do the staircase. I tried to go quietly, but I suppose that it was inevitable that her heard me, asked me pointedly where Robert was, and walked me and the boy to the kitchen where I begged food from one of the lower cooks, and he then escorted us to the door, just to make certain that I did not leave him behind.

"It's all your fault. If not for you today would be a good day." I hissed at him.

"If not for you, a midget would not be buzzing and squeaking in my ear, annoying and irritating me." The 'midget' kicked him.

We walked, mostly in silence, and it gave me the chance to look about and remember how much I loved my land, the green fields seemed to be endless, and flowers covered the edges, bright and glowing balls of colours. I sighed happily; I knew that there was no better place on earth, even if no one else did.

We reached the village green just before noon; it was, for summer, a disappointing day, with grey cloud covering the sun, and a humid feel to the air that threatened rain. Nevertheless, there were children here anyway. I recognised a few, my nurse's girl, Evie, who was one of my closest friends, and the oldest boy, save for Robert, called William.

Running up to me, they greeted me, Evie and I jumping up and down and telling each other how much we missed each other, in the way that all girls do, that boys simply will never understand. Will greeted me as usual,

"I saw your hair coming a mile off."

Usually, readers, as you know, I am a little sensitive about my hair. But Will was only joking, and he and I were close friends.

Robert stared at Will in abject horror as if he could not believe his ears, unfortunately for him, I had had to teach him my hair sensitivity a week ago when he had insulted me, by pulling his hair quite hard and threatening to cut it all so that he looked bald. He then turned to me, fully expecting me to hit or kick the peasant boy.

"Speak for yourself, blond boy." Will had very bright blond hair that he ruffled fondly.

"I have not seen you for weeks mistress Marianna. Too busy a lady to come and see your loyal subjects?"

Robert snorted very loudly at both the 'mistress' and the 'lady'. He then rather stupidly muttered about wild animals and hitting and fighting girls.

"What were you saying about Marian? I'll not hear you say things like that about her" Said Will threateningly.

I am afraid that this increased Robert's disbelief. I graciously stepped in at this point though, linking my arm with Evie's, she winked at me. I grinned at Will.

"I only hit boys who happen to be ill-mannered."

But it was more than that; Will had once saved my life. He was Evie's cousin and their Aunt was a Wise Woman with a knowledge of wildlife, plants and herbs that she was steadily passing onto to Will and Evie. When I was ill last winter with influenza, Will had given Evie something that would cure me, and Evie had passed it to her mother, who, as my nurse, had felt compelled to make me drink the vile-tasting stuff. I was thankful for our friendship more than anything, and tried to re-pay the debt that I owed them with clothes and anything else that I could lay my hands on. They had saved me, and I in return, wanted to make their lives a little easier. Will and I had a sort of understanding; you might call it mutual respect.

"Lady!" Robert said incredulously, "Lady! When she acts like a lady, it will be our Final Judgement, and God will burn her for wearing men's clothes!"

Will closed in on Robert. "Do not say things like that to her, I am the only one who can say things like that to her."

"Or what?" Said Robert in an attempt to intimidate Will.

Boys! So infinitely more foolish than girls, Evie looked at me and giggled at them.

"Will, I did not decide to come here to watch you two fight. Come, let us play."

Robert followed us as we walked over to join the other children. Will spat at Robert, and I grabbed his arm and pulled him away, scolding him.

"Will Scathlock! What would your mother say?" Knowing full well what his aunt, my nurse, would do. "Doing something as disgusting as that in front of a lady."

"My cousin is used to it, and aside from her, I see no lady. You are just a girl."

I punched his shoulder playfully, and taking what I considered a charitable step towards improving my moral character, I took pity on Robert and slowed down to speak to him.

"Will is just a little protective of me, we have known each other for years, he will warm to you eventually. Cheer up; there are other boys here who will, unfortunately, like you."

I split my food with him, and we ran to catch up with the others, there were around twenty of us, and only five of us girls.

"I still hate you though." I said making that fact perfectly clear.

"Likewise." He said with a grin.

As I said, the other boys got on well with Robert; he was quickly established as their leader. Will stayed either with me and Evie, or on the outskirts of the group of boys. We sat down on the grass and ate, the cook had given me some hard bread and a few pieces of dried meat, I was beginning to think that my servants, who had been both my friends and substitute parents to me since I was young, no longer liked me.

"Throw me your cloak." I called to Will.

Putting it on backwards, with the hood covering my face, I chased Evie about. A girl named Ellen, whose father owned a little land nearby. We collapsed in a shrieking pile of giggling, hysterical young girls. Robert, I could hear, was making the boys laugh with a few words about the fairer, crazier sex.

However, our laughter was infectious, as was our game, and slowly the boys joined in with us.

Whoever wore the cloak was put in the middle of a circle, and forty hands reached in to spin them about. When the hooded one could no longer stand straight or walk properly, we stopped and ran away screaming.

It was Robert's turn to wear the hood, he was spun around and around and around, then we all ran away. I was one of the first to get caught by him, being slower than the others, but more and more of us joined the ranks of those who had been caught like me, so I did not want for company.

The boys started clapping and cheering for whoever they wanted to win. It was a sign of how far Robin had managed to befriend them that the majority called out 'Robin Hood', 'Robin Hood'. Will sat next to me,

"I do not like your visitor; why in Hell does your uncle want you to marry him?"

"I do not like him either, and my uncle thinks that I haven't a hope of a better match. It is rather insulting towards me I suppose."

He grinned with me and we watch how one boy remained now, tormenting Robert by being close enough for him to be able to hear his footsteps when he turned or moved, but keeping just out of arms reach.

The day wore on with our fun and games, and the air grew chill as the sun faded. I passed Will's cloak back to him, and Evie kindly reminded me that I could not leave Robert here; I had to take him home with me.

Apparently 'Robin Hood' had invited everyone back to me castle tomorrow. I felt like leaving him here to see how well he found his way back without me. But I was hungry, and I did not want an argument with my uncle about how he would tell Robert's father that I had lost him.

"Come one Robert. I want to go home." I threw grass towards him.

Eventually we dragged him away from him new friends, and Will and Evie walked us back home.

"Where do you live Robert?" Said Evie to break the silence.

"If you carry on walking in a straight line for weeks, you will eventually arrive on my lands, but…" He paused to look up at the sky, where stars had begun to shine and twinkle through the darkness that had fallen. "It is much nicer here."

I raised an eyebrow at him and threw some more grass. "I thought that you called me home a hovel when we first met, and you complained very loudly about wet bog land."

"He said what?" Will asked, glaring at Robert.

"Marian's land is the nicest here for miles." Said Evie.

"And the wettest." Robert said while looking at his clothes, his legs were covered in mud. "I just needed a little time to get used to it, it is not so bad."

"I bet that it is a lot nicer than your own land." I said defensively.

"Whatever I say will make no difference because you have not seen my land."

"No…" I replied, "And I have no wish to either."

"You will have to one day." Evie said, her grin telling me that she was just teasing me, "Because one day you must marry him."

Robert and I spoke together. I said, "I will never marry him."

And he said, "I do not want to marry her."

So we managed to reinforce the idea that our "marriage" would never happen.

Finally, we got back to the castle, I said goodbye to Evie and Will, and ran through my home into the kitchen, praying that our cook was still there. Robert followed me.

"Maggie, do you have anything left for us to eat? I am so hungry, I think I will swoon." I even demonstrated for her.

But the cook turned around to glare at me, her round face red with the heat from the kitchen.

"If you had been back on time you might have been fed, but I have better things to do than feed the two of you, I have no time now."

I begged her, but she just laughed and still refused. Then Robert stepped forward, and I do not know how he did it, but he turned on this reserve of charm that he had stored away somewhere hidden inside of him, ready to be used in difficult circumstances like this.

He began by looking gratefully at her, his eyes could melt the most of hearts, but remember readers that I said the most, and not all. Maggie began to sway, but she had not yet fallen over to our side yet.

The smarmy git them began to tell her how much he had enjoyed the meals here and how her food was of a superior quality to the food he forced to eat at Locksley. She ran about in eagerness to get 'her lord' something to eat, never mind her lady whose insides were feeding off each other. I was, however… moderately impressed.

With our arms filled with food, and with plates and a jug of weak ale, we made our way to the dining room and sat, for a joke, on either side of the table that seated a hundred. Uncle had heard, and was rather surprised to see us eating so genteelly. The man was not satisfied to betroth me, his only niece, to that boy, he felt compelled to steal my chicken as well. I threw a carrot at him while he was quizzing Robert about what he had done today. Unfortunately, completely by chance and accident, it happened to hit Robert instead. Both of them turned around to stare at me. I smiled sheepishly.

"Uncle was hungry, I thought he might like a carrot." I offered hopefully.

Robert had less food that me left to throw or eat, and I carefully stored away my fruit tarts to eat later on, and then sorted out my ammunition, while Robert's head adjusted to that fact that yes, a carrot had just been thrown at it. I do suppose that nothing like this had ever happened to him before.

On one side of my plate there were the things that needed cutlery to be launched into the air, and on the other, there were things like chicken bones that I could throw at him easily.

Uncle rose and said sharply.

"Do not even think of it. Mary, Marian my dear, no fighting with the food, not in my home, not outside, no!"

Uncle got caught in whatever it was that Robert had thrown at me, something like gravy, I would imagine.

I slide my plate down to uncle and covering myself with a chair, I went to the kitchen to get more food. Upon arriving back in the dining room, Robert was covered in my potato, and uncle stood next to Robert explaining why young gentlemen did not throw food.

"But you did." Robert protested.

"I am no longer a young man, Robin." My uncle said pleasantly.

"Does that mean that the fight has finished?" I said disappointed.

"Yes!" Robert and uncle shouted together.

Uncle glared at me.

"You are a bad influence girl. I believe that you could, at times, corrupt a saint."

"He was no saint to begin with." I muttered and glared at Robert.

"Go to bed, the both of you, and pray to God that my patience last till the end of summer."

The night was short and morning came quickly with the promise of laugher and games.

My nurse banged on the door to tell me she was coming in, and then entered. I yawned and buried my head underneath the blanket.

"Get up lazy. Will and Evie are downstairs waiting for you, hurry up Marianna."

Susan pulled my blanket away from me, so I had to get up.

"Come on, do not keep them waiting."

Groaning I got dressed quickly and ran downstairs to find my friends.

"Have you eaten?" I asked them, they told they had, but I invited them to breakfast with me a second time.

We ate and hearing the noise and laughter of children outside, we followed the sound.

Surrounding my castle was grass, and as my land vanished into Sherwood forest, many tall oak trees.

"I asked your uncle for permission to build a tree house and a swing onto one of the trees." Robert said, pointing to our head gardener, "Daniel said that he would help us."

I suspected that Daniel would be doing all the work and we would be getting in his way. I hit Robert.

"What was that for."

"For planning all this and not telling me. This is my home, not your."

I glared at him and folded my arms, he looked to Evie for help.

"But…" She said smiling, "Imagine how fun it will be, a tree house!"

I loved the idea, but because Robert had thought of it, I made up my mind to act as if I hated it. The best thing was that it would be all mine for all but two months of the year.

It took the whole of the summer for Daniel and three other men to build my tree house, it was strong and sturdy, and I noticed that even if I grew dramatically, the ceiling would always be too high for me to touch, it would, however, be the perfect height for Robert. First my uncle, then my friends, the cook, and now the gardeners, who else was he going to charms and befriend?

It was wide enough for a bed to be build into the wall, and a table and chairs to be nailed to the floor. I had a cupboard in which I could hoard food, and I was determined to stay and live there during warmer days.

My swing was also made for someone suspiciously taller than me, for my feet were miles from touching the ground. It was a sturdy plank of wood, much resembling Robert's head, connected to the strongest branch by two long pieces of rope.

I ignored all of their building work and refused to either sit on the swing or go into the tree house when anyone was watching me. I was obstinate and stupid, can you see why I had only a few friends, I was a hard child to love. But at night I would slip out of the house by the servants' way and I would run across the grass barefooted in my nightgown like a little ghost, to play on the swing in the dark, and to look up at the stars while I laid on the floor of the tree house. My uncle knew, I was sure of it, for he told Susan where to find me if, in the morning, I was not in my bed. Susan always came to the tree house and she would pick me up in her big arms and carry me home asleep. For, readers, I would often fall asleep in the little bed that was still, too big for someone of my size, however, Robert would fit in it perfectly. I hated him!

3, 122 words!!!!


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